White supremacist gets 31 years for attack on fisherman

Tricia Bishop, The Baltimore Sun

A Baltimore judge sentenced white supremacist Calvin E. Lockner to 31 years in prison Monday on four criminal counts, including the assault of an elderly black fisherman, who repeatedly described the beating and its aftermath as "stressful" during the brief court proceeding.

Standing four feet from his attacker, James Privott, 77, outlined the effects of the August 2009 battering, which left him with a fractured eye socket, missing teeth and expensive doctor bills.

"The situation put my wife and I and my family in a stressful, stressful" position, Privott said. "My wife basically had to take over for meÃÆÃâÃâÃâ¦ For three weeks I couldn't see."

Court papers describe Lockner, 29, as a Hitler follower and registered sex offender who molested a little girl and raped a woman. He pleaded guilty last week to attacking Privott, as the older man packed up his Chevy Tahoe and prepared to head home after an early morning of fishing at Fort Armistead Park.

Motivated by hate, Lockner and two others beat Privott, then stole his vehicle, according to court records. Lockner received a 30-year sentence for the carjacking, 25 years for assaulting Privott and 10 years for committing a hate crime, all set to run concurrently. He received an additional one-year sentence for assaulting a correctional officer by throwing urine at the man, who declined to speak in court Monday.

Lockner's public defender read a statement on his behalf apologizing to Privott and asking for forgiveness. "I should have been able to conduct myself as a man, but chose the acts of a boy," Lockner said in the statement. "I am sorry for the pain and agony that my actions have caused you."

The trial of a co-defendant, Zachary Watson, 18, was scheduled for Monday, but will be postponed because Watson's attorney is trying another case, according to the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office. A third defendant, 16-year-old Emmanuel Miller, was previously found involved by a juvenile court judge.